Adaption
by Invader Ryn
Summary: Zim returns after five years, and both Zim and Gaz must deal with what this means for both of them.
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes: This is my first fic... hope it's good! Please R&R, it'll encourage me to keep going on it... oh, and yeah... Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Zim characters. If I did, the world would be a far more frightening place.

He couldn't believe his eyes. He pulled off his glasses and rubbed the lenses with the hem of his shirt without looking at them, them slid them back on. He saw as the world came back into focus that his eyes had not deceived him. Standing across the hall, looking at him, was Zim.

It had been five years, but he recognized him instantly. It wasn't easy. Either Zim had changed his disguise, or five years of life ... wherever Zim had been living had changed him drastically. His skin was no longer the distinctive pea-soup green it had been, but was a rather sickly whitish greenish color, and his ridiculous pompadore wig had been restyled, or replaced, a plain, shoulder-brushing cut. He'd also grown. He was still rather short, but short like an adult, not like a child. He'd changed much, but Dib still recognized him instantly, the way a mongoose recognized a viper. It was almost primal.

Dib realized he must have been staring for almost half a minute now, dumbfounded. Zim hadn't broken eye contact with him the entire time.

What Dib found strange, however, was not the physical changes in Zim, but the expression on his face. There was no hate, no gloating, no triumph, just simple, cold acknowledgment. Zim knew it was Dib, knew he had been recognized, but he didn't care. His eyes were calm, collected, and unfeeling. Invader's eyes, Dib realized, with a cold thrill.

Zim inclined him head slightly, broke eye contact, and turned away, striding down the hall. Dib knew he should follow him, Corner him, question him, but somehow couldn't bring himself to move, only to watch, as Zim rounded a corner and dissapeared.

Finally Dib was able to galvanize himself into action, rushing the opposite way to his locker. He dropped his bag, fumbled the lock open, and pulled out his floor length trench coat, throwing it on. As he turned to grab his bag, he noticed himself in his locker mirror. His face had gone a chalky white, and his long black hair, streaked with blue and braided to below his shoulders, looked damp with sweat.

He hurriedly wiped his face on the back of his sleeve and took a few deep breaths, willing the color to come back to his face. Best not to look too shocked, or people might think him ill. When his face approached a normal tone again, he slammed the locker shut, wincing as he heard the mirror fall, and grabbed his bag, shoving the lock in his pocket rather than take time to put it in place. There wasn't anything important in there anyways, not even textbooks.

He swept up his bag and hurried from the building. Today, there were more important things than Skool.

Arriving home, out of breath, Dib ran at once to his room on the second floor. He'd long ago taken over the master bedroom, when his equipment had outgrown his smaller room. He doubted his father even knew. The only ways the Membrane children knew he hadn't completely forgotten the was that the bank account was added to monthly, and that he called them via videophone twice a month.

Dib often wondered why he bothered. So long as their report cards were respectable and social workers didn't come sniffing around, he didn't care what they did.

Tossing down his backpack, he practically threw himself into the computer chair. "Computer!" He barked, "Contact Agent Darkbooty immediately!" It softly beeped an affirmative, a black window popping up on the main screen. "What is it, Agent Mothman?" Dib was momentarily surprised. In the three years since he had last spoken with the swollen eyeballs, Darkbooty's voice had gotten rougher. Older. "He's returned, Agent Darkbooty. Zim is back."

"You know what you must do, Agent Mothman." Dib nodded. "If Zim has returned after all these years, then it must mean trouble. Zim has to be stopped. Again."

"Using whatever means necessary." Dib paused at the implication in his superior's words. Finally, he nodded. "Whatever means necessary."

"Contact us again when you've made progress. And, Dib?" He froze when Darkbooty used his real name. "Yes?"

"Good luck, you'll need it. Agent Darkbooty, out." The window went black again, then closed itself, leaving Dib's circuit board background bare. But not for long.

With suddenly renewed fervor, Dib began calling up file after file. Documents, videos, pictures, schematics, and sundry other tidbits were all revealed on the multiple monitors.

None were quite revealing enough to expose Zim to the skeptics of the world, but to Dib, each bit of evidence was glaringly obvious. A water burn, Zim's missing ears, a crooked contact lens, GIR in his dog suit, the laser gnomes, a blurry video of the voot cruiser... His stock of evidence was astounding. But it wasn't enough for the world to be convinced. No, they needed something irrefutable. Like a specimen.

Dib grinned at the thought of Zim floating in a tube of neon-colored goo, festooned with wires, helpless. At Dib's mercy. He felt a twinge of something else along with the satisfaction that came with the mental image, but pushed it away. He was far too busy refreshing his obsession to deal with anything else at the moment.

He was engrossed enough, in fact, that when the bedroom door creaked open, he barely even registered it, until he heard a sigh. "He's gone, Dib. Why are you still pulling all this stuff up? It's been five years." The bed springs creaked as Gaz settled herself on the edge of the bed.

Since their father had practically deserted them, Gaz's attitude towards him had softened. The rest of her, however, seemed to have toughened. She no longer reacted to every possible threat by lashing out with verbal, or physical, violence, but rather let most of it slide away. She was strong enough for that, now.

Her clothing still ran towards black, fishnet, and skulls, but she had grown her violet hair out, so it fell softly down her back. She'd also added makeup to her daily routine, all in shades of black and violet. Today, he saw, she'd given herself Egyptianesque swoops, something she'd become fond of recently. "I saw him, Gaz. Today, at Skool."

"Really?" She sounded cautious. "Are you sure, Dib? It wasn't some weirdo with a pompadour?" Dib shook his head. "He's changed, Gaz, but I recognize him. I almost think he wanted me to. He stood there, just looking at me, for a long time, then walked away. But it was him. I know it. I can feel it. He's back."

"...I believe you, Dib." Her words sounded troubled, but not doubtful. He pushed that tidbit aside, just like the unidentified emotional twinge. He couldn't spare the time, or the concentration, as he wracked his brain and searched his files. "So, what are you going to do?"

"What?"

"Now that Zim is back, what are you going to do?"

"What am I going to do!" Dib was stupefied, incredulous at her statement. "What do you think I'm going to do, Gaz? I'm going to stop him!"

"From?"

"Did you eat stupid for breakfast, Gaz? From conquering the world!"

"How do you know he's planning to do that?"

"How? How! He's... He's... Zim! He's an invader!"

"He's been gone for five years, Dib. Five quiet years. Don't you think, after all this time, we would have seen some sign, if he was still trying? Why would he come back here, and make sure you saw him, if he was still interested in conquering the world?"

"What else could he POSSIBLY want, Gaz? It must all be part of his plan. He must have been waiting, consolidating his resources, plotting, waiting for just the right time to strike. Maybe it has something to do with the conjunction coming up! Yeah, I better look into that..." He heard Gaz stand and move for the door. "Alright, Dib. I'm going out... I'll be back later." The door clicked shut behind her. Dib didn't hear it, immersed again in his research.

Gaz stalked down the sidewalk, her head bowed, deep in thought. Was it really true? Was Zim back? The thought made her uneasy. It lent validity to things she didn't really want to think about _Two dragons..._ She shook her head. She wasn't going to think about it. She looked up with resolution, and abruptly felt weak in the knees.

As they had for the past two weeks, her feet had carried her, unconsciously, to Zim's. This time, however, the door was open. It couldn't be a coincidence.

Almost helplessly, she approached the door, glancing at the depressions where the robotic gnomes had been, before Dib uprooted them for study.

She nudged the door open a little wider, and stepped through. It was dark inside, and not as she remembered. Everything had either been broken or carried off, most of it by Dib when Zim had left.

After he'd gone, Dib had flown into a rage, and had trashed the ground floor of Zim's house. Later, he'd come back and salvaged what he could.

A lot of it, she knew, had been hybridized into his own computer system. The wallscreens, the appliances, even some circuitry from the walls were worked into the system that resided in their father's room. The toilet sat in Dib's old room, like some sort of strange trophy. It was beyond her how he'd lugged it home, all by himself. Probably with the aid of some invention filched from their father.

She looked about, surveying the damage. Holes and large dark spots, where things had hung adorned the walls, a gaping hole in the kitchen floor... even the ugly old couch was ruined, the upholstery torn and covered in brown stains, hopefully from water damage and not other, more disgusting liquids.

She didn't see Zim anywhere in the house. She bent over to examine the crater where the toilet had been, That was when she heard a faint swoosh, and a soft footfall behind her. She whirled around, and there he was, standing in the entrance to the kitchen.

She was astonished both by how human and how sickly he looked. His Irken uniform was gone, replaced by snug-looking black pants, a loose burgundy T-shirt, and red-trimmed over-shirt. The only thing that remained were his old gloves, and possibly his boots. She wasn't able to tell, with his pant legs in the way. "So you really are back." She said it flatly, but her heart was racing. She hoped coming here hadn't been a major error in judgment. "Yes, Gaz-beast, I'm back." His tone of voice shocked her more than his appearance. It was calm, collected... and sad. "Why?"

"I expected your brother to be the one to question me."

"He probably will... if he doesn't go straight to trying to capture you for the good of all mankind."

"Is he still so rash?"

"Are you not?" At this, his mouth quirked into a slight smile. "No Gaz, I'm not. It's been a long five years. Very, very long."

"Where were you?"

"Elsewhere. Nowhere. At least, nowhere important."

"A different planet?"

"A whole other world." He was hiding something, she knew, with that turn of phrase. "What world?"

"One you know nothing of, little Gaz."

"Little? I'm taller than you Zim, and only a year younger."

"Taller yes, but younger by far, far more than that. Humans can't dream to live as long as I already have."

"But... you've grown. In just five years, you've grown a lot..."

"I believe that has something to do with the way you humans alter your food. Growth hormones, genetic modification, all that. Did you know tomatoes now have fish DNA in them?"

"But you don't eat human food..."

"I trained myself to tolerate it, the same way you humans can grow to tolerate poisons. Sugars seem to help. I can't eat anything with more than slight amounts of protein in it, however."

"Why?" He cocked his head slightly, a long strand of hair rising from his head. She realized, when it twitched, that it was an antennae, camouflaged in plain sight by his wig. "Why what, little Gaz?"

"Why bother learning to eat our food?"

"It was that or starve. My rations ran out."

"Then why stay?"

"Where else was there to go? I never left Earth, Gaz, because there was nowhere out there to go. Nowhere in the galaxy, that I knew of, that hadn't heard at least hatefully whispered rumors of the Irken Empire. Nowhere but here, this remote, backwater hole. I had nowhere else to live."

"Why didn't you go back to Irk?"

"Why are you so curious about me, Gaz?" She crossed her arms. "You ARE an alien."

"That didn't interest you before, as I recall."

"My brother is still obsessed with you." He nodded. "I thought as much. I saw him today."

"Why are you back here, Zim?" He shifted his weight, a gloved claw rising to his throat. She saw a glint of copper chain and a glimpse of something silver, before he tucked whatever it was back into his shirt. "My reasons are my own. Suffice to say, I'm no threat to you or your brother."

"You were never a threat, Zim."

"I could be now." She looked into his eyes, frightening and cold, and she believed it. "Then why aren't you, Zim?"

"As I said, Gaz, my reasons are my own."

"There must be a reason why you're here, why else would you come back where you know you'll be hounded?"

"Why do you keep coming to my house?" She jumped slightly at the question. "What?"

"Why do you come stand on my lawn everyday?"

"How..."

"My robot spy bees have a ten day memory span. Anything older is deleted for space. They show you coming to my house, every day, for as long as they can remember. Why?"

"I don't know." She was losing control of the conversation, she realized, had been for a while. She knew she should leave, before the conversation went where she didn't want it to. She just somehow couldn't take that first step away.

Something about being around Zim, after all these years, was captivating. She was uneasily reminded of footage she'd seen in biology class, of a small bird being eaten by a snake. The bird had just stared at the snake and cowered. It could have flown away at any time, and been free of the snake, but it had just sat there until the snake pounced, and then it had been far, far too late. "Have you missed me that much?"

"I'm not the one who's missed you, Zim."

"Then why are you here?" Why are you the first one to come greet me?"

"He's trying to come up with a plan, trying to prepare for your 'insidious plot'."

"I suppose I should have expected that. Dib seems to love plans as much as I did. I suppose we all need to feel like we have a purpose."

"Where's GIR?"

"I mention purpose and you think of GIR? That's an interesting tangent."

"Why are you avoiding all my questions?" She yelled. He smirked. "Why haven't you caught me at it before now?" She glared at him, amber eyes flinty. "You've gotten slippery, Zim."

"Necessity is the mother of us all. There are people out there, persistent people, who won't be put off by excuses like a 'skin condition'. Your brother, for instance."

"Where have you been?"

"I thought I'd made it fairly clear that I won't answer that question, Gaz." Finally a thread of anger touched his voice. "I don't owe you answers. But you owe me some."

"How do you figure that?"

"Need I remind you who's trespassing in who's domain?"

"Right. It was my brother you wanted to lure here, not me. How could I forget that?" He shifted his weight again, leaning towards her. "Why have you been coming here?" He hissed. She could see a ruby gleam in the pupils of his contacts. His true eyes showing through. She shivered. "I said I don't know. Why is it so _fucking_ important?" She was starting to get anxious. She should go-

"Because, I want to know how you knew i was coming back." Panic.

"I didn't!"

"You knew, or know, something, Gaz. I know you haven't been coming for very long. You always stand in the same spot, and the grass is barely damaged. How did you know?"

"I had a dream!" She shouted it at him, finally able to take that first step towards him. With the first, the rest came easily, until she was inches from him, looking down into his face. "Angry with me, Gaz? I didn't cause the dream, though I'd love to know what it was of." Her eyes narrowed. "Forget it, Zim." She walked around him and through the front door, slamming it behind her. But she still had the nagging image of the bird, struggling helplessly in the snakes' jaws.

TBC

So that's the first chunk, hope you enjoyed, and please R&R, like I said... constructive criticism is welcomed, so don't be shy!

Edit: Came back and fixed my typos. After a few years... *shifty eyes*. I guess it's time for me to write another installment, huh? Better get my fingers busy.

Edit 2: I fixed the REST of the typos, hopefully, and made a few artistic alterations, nothing big. (ABOUT TIME!!!) Now, on to chapter two, and then.... THE WORLD!!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's notes: This is my first fic... hope it's good! Please R&R, it'll encourage me to keep going on it... oh, and yeah... Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Zim characters. If I did, the world would be a much scarier place.

Gaz walked moodily down the sidewalk, kicking a small rock methodically. She headed away from both Zim's house and her own. She didn't want to deal with either her unstable brother or this new, frightening Zim. She shuddered as she recalled the ruby shine behind his lavender contacts. The mad, egotistical alien she'd scoffed at had become something new. The larvae had hatched, not into a butterfly, but a wasp. She tried to push thoughts of Zim away, but she failed. If Zim had returned, then she had to give the rest of the dream credence. It seemed to play on the back of her skull, like a projection in a theater.

_Two dragons, a red eyed green one, and a black one with dark eyes circle each other. The black one hisses and roars and bears it's teeth. The green one watches calmly, ruby eyes unblinking. Finally, the black one makes a headlong rush at the green, only to be batted easily away. It pounces again, engaging the green one in a titanic struggle. The two beasts flail across a dark forest, the animals within uncaring of their desperate struggle. Finally, the two seperate, the black one tattered and bleeding, the green one... sad? The impasse of giants is shattered with the arrival of a dark knight on a silver, metallic horse. The knight lowers a wicked lance at the dragons. Hissing at the knight, the green dragon seizes the black in it's claws. The black beast clings to it, and the green bears it up into the sky, wings heaving, until they dimish to a speck, roving between the stars._

Gaz shook her head, biting her lip. _He can't take Dib. He's all I've got left._ Mom dead, Dad MIA, her brother was the only link to the world she had. She couldn't see facing the world without him, even if he was a neurotic pain in the ass. She didn't for a moment doubt that Dib was the black dragon, and Zim the green. The only thing she didn't understand was the knight on the metal horse. But she knew, in the core of her being, that if she didn't somehow stop it, the alien would take her brother away.

She kicked the rock away, punting it across the street to hit someone's lawn flamingo. The poor, ugly thing was bleached almost white by the elements, and it's neck sagged from summer heat and winter snow. _Maybe that's why Zim's so pale._ She chuckled despite herself, imagining the Irken as a lawn orament in some redneck's front yard. Then she sighed, the mirth draining away. He _did_ look worn, and unhealthy. The only bright thing about him had been his eyes, which held a fever gleam despite his apparent reserve.

"Mom... would you know what to do?" She wondered aloud, looking up at the cloud-streaked sky. "Probably not. I couldn't ask many people what to do about my neighbor, the alien."

"Gaz, did you just, like, say your neighbor was an alien?" Gaz jumped and whirled, staring wide-eyed at the person behind her. Shawni, one of her Skool friends. The girl had harshly bleached blonde hair, pulled back in pigtails, raccoon makeup on her eyes, and wore a medley of fishnet, velvet, and rubber tubing. She was blinking at Gaz now, her blue eyes innocent. "Do you, like, have a foreign neighbor or something? Ohmigawd, is he cute?! Tell me he's cute!" Gaz sighed, relaxing. Typical Shawni. "You wouldn't like him, Shi." The blonde pouted, sticking out her bright-pink painted lip.

"Didn't you hear me calling you? You like, walked right past my house. I yelled at you, like, seven times, but you totally ignored me. I wanted to tell you about this guy I met at this rave on the weekend. He was so totally hot..." Gaz tuned her friend's babble out, only paying enough attention to nod and 'mmm-hmmm' at the right times. Compared to what was on _her _mind, Shawni's babble about cute boys and crummy music seemed so... trivial. Childish. Finally, as Shawni started into what seemed to be her third story with minimal breathing involved in the telling, something seemed to snap deep inside Gaz. She whirled on her babbling companion, amber eyes holding a dangerous gleam. "Shawni. Shut. Up. I don't care. I don't care about your stupid crushes, or some band, or any of the things that seem to be important in your so-called brain. So just shut up. Did it even occur to you that maybe I _don't care?_ _Infact, go AWAY._" Shawni lurched slightly, her light blue eyes locked to Gaz's amber. "Gaz... I... okay..." The girl backed away from her, eyes wide, her pupils contracted to fear-induced pinpricks. After a few stumbling steps, she turned and ran. Gaz watched after her, puzzled. She'd been mean, (and where had that come from?) but not mean enough to send the irrepresible Shawni running.... had she? She sighed, hanging her head and turning from home. Another mystery without an answer...

Zim narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the monitor that glowed coldly infront of him, bathing him in bluish glow. The robot bee camera circled at it's slowest speed, taking in the two girls, not so far from his pillaged base. He saw the babbling child nattering away at the violet haired Gaz, who seemed to pay the pest no attention. Until... His eyes narrowed further, pupils practically glowing garnet in the screen's light. Gaz whirled on the parasitic youth, her eyes almost seeming to blaze with an inner light. An unseen, unfelt wind stirred her hair from her shoulders, seeming ready to scorch the very air around her. She began a verbal harangue that seemed to wound the blonde girl, and then- _static._ "What? Computer, analyze signal from camera drone two!"

"Camera drone two is not responding or transmiting, sir."

"Impossible! It was perfectly fine a minute ago. What happened?!"

"Data unknown."

He hissed quietly, claws tightening on the arms of his chair. "I'll have to retrieve it manually. Enter sleep state." The monitor dimmed and changed to a slowly revolving display of the symbol of the Irken Armada. He hissed again at that sharp reminder. He'd need a new sleep display. Something more... suitable. He stepped into his lift, impatiently toying with his hand-made pendant of fused copper, crystal, and less identifyable bits. He frowned when he realized he'd taken up that nervous habit again. So very... human. He shoved the pendant away under his shirt again, and stubbornly crossed his thin arms over his equally thin chest until the lift rose into the living room. He headed for the bot's last known coordinates, mind on what he'd witnessed in it's last moments of transmitting. That display had certainly been... not typical. Of either Gaz, or humans in general. Perhaps a Meekrobian, but not human. He'd have to investigate this, and Gaz's 'dreams', further.

Finally, he reached the site where the bot had fallen. He surveyed the scene, and immediately noticed the grass surrounding the sidewalk where Gaz had stood. It looked.... scorched. He grinned, and turned to retrieve the bee-bot. The girl definately bore investigating.

TBC

So that's the latest chunk. Sorry it's shorter than the first one! Hopefully it won't take me a few YEARS to do the next! And like before, please R&R!

Edit: Came back, fixed some mistakes, and made a few artistic touchups. So.... ummm.... About that not taking years thing.... yeah.... I'll write more now, I promise!!


	3. Chapter 3

Author's notes: Alright, I think it's fairly clear that It takes FOREVER for me to write a new piece of this fic. BUT, I haven't abandoned it, and I'm really going to try harder!! SRSLY!! I hope you all enjoy this chunk, and I'll try hard to make more of it soon. Disclaimers and all that.

Gaz slammed the door to her room and threw herself on the bed, stomach churning. She'd felt fine, in fact, _good,_ for most of the rest of her walk, but when she had been nearly home, a wave of nausea and lethargy had swept over her. The only other time she had felt like this had been after waking from one of her dreams, the ones that seemed to bode horrible things for her brother. She buried her face in her pillow with a moan. She felt dizzy, as if the room was both spinning and slowly falling. She dug her fingers into her mattress with a moan. It had never been this bad before! It was always just a little dizziness and nausea, like a mild hangover, not this. She couldn't even lift her head, both from disorientation and the fear she would vomit. The room was dropping, and spinning, and coming apart…

She woke to a dark room and a silent house. Shaky, she sat up on her bed and looked at the clock. It was evening, almost nine. She frowned, listening for Dib. He should have been playing his music or watching Mysterious Mysteries re-runs while he did his homework. He never went out… Dib had fewer real friends than she did, as in none, and did all his socializing on IRC with fifty-year-old conspiracy theorists and- _alien nuts!_ Zim! It came back to her in a horrible rush, the day's events seeming to feed into her sick feeling. Stumbling, she hurried from her room to the master bedroom, opening the door. The room was dark, and empty. There was no sign of Dib. She spun and hurried for the stairs, and was halfway down them when she heard the front door slam, and something-_someone,_ knock over the lamp by the couch. She finished her trip down the stairs to see Dib, silhouetted in the dark by the street lamps, leaning on the couch back. She fumbled and flipped on the kitchen lights, and gasped. Dib's glasses were gone, and a trickle of blood ran down the side of her face, over a bruise that was already purpling on his cheek. His right arm was tucked protectively against his body, the sleeve of his dark blue-grey hoodie torn. He looked up at her, squinting in the bright light and without his glasses. "Gaz? I… help me into the kitchen, would you? Wordlessly she went to him, taking his weight from the couch onto her shoulder, and helped him into a kitchen chair. He seemed to be having difficulty walking. She pulled the other chair around and looked at him. "Dib. What _happened?_ How did you get hurt like this?" He smiled weakly, a bitter look on his face. "Zim. Of course."

"But…! He never _hurt_ you like this before!" He sighed, wiping blood from his face with his ruined sweater, and pulled it off, gingerly, to poke at his hurt arm. "I know…. Maybe that made me cocky… but it's not really that bad, my ankle's the worst, and I did that on my way back, not in the base. "

"But what happened?" He sighed. "I better start from the beginning…"

Dib grinned ferociously to himself, creeping through the overgrown bushes around Zim's base. Five years of total neglect had made the once-trim plants the perfect cover to approach. He slid towards one of the gnome-holes, glanced around, and then set to work. A few quick slashes of a simple bowie knife cut the overgrown sod free of the cover he'd placed over the hole after removing the security device years ago. It had been a remarkably difficult and unsatisfying job, he remembered, the security components all retracted down through a shaft into the base's main body. But tonight, that would work for him. He'd been in these shafts before, and while they didn't run deep, they let into other networks, certainly enough for some light recon.

He pulled the cover free, a simple knock-together of plywood and rope, and set it aside. He'd set it back into place when he was done, and Zim would be none the wiser. He tucked his knife away and slipped down the hole, feet first, letting himself down the inclined shaft. There were closed panels, every so often, that he'd never been able to open, no matter his efforts. Finally, the shaft leveled out, branching back towards the other gnome holes and widening proportionately. He followed it to a simple, unsecured service hatch, opened it, and dropped down confidently into the dark. He still remembered the route from years ago- He grunted, shocked, as a metal claw closed firm around his middle and he dropped through, forcing the air from him in a surprised rush. The claw was so tight he could barely breathe, much less cry out as it quickly conveyed him through one of the inoperable hatches, very swiftly and in the dark, to a small, metal-walled room with dim lighting overhead. The arm of the claw retracted into the wall, effectively fastening him to it. After a few moments of suspense and struggling against the claw's indominatable grip, the door on the far side of the room hissed hydraulically open, and Zim entered. It was still a shock to see his old nemesis like this, and after so many years, so much so that Dib simply stared for a moment. Then he shook himself, said, as the claw didn't permit enough air to shout, "Zim! Let me out of here! Make this thing let me go! You'll pay for this, when everyone knows what you are-"The alien cut him sharp with a hard, contemptuous sound and a sharp, cutting hand motion. "Shut up, Dib! Don't you know how stupid you sound? You break into my home, which you've presumably been doing frequently while I've been gone, and stupidly, too! Even _human_ law allows me to defend against that! And then you start ranting at me, _demanding_ I let you go, and in the same breath you threaten me with what will happen when you _expose_ me! For what possible reason would I release you?" He snarled, sharp, peglike teeth bared. "Haven't you grown up at all, Dib?" He delivered the last line in a weary, disgusted tone. Dib gaped at him. "But… I… You have to let me go! What else would you do? …Kill… me?" He delivered the last two words with a tremble in his voice, covered by a layer of bravado. Zim looked at his sidelong, the garnet gleam of his true eyes shining brightly through in the dim, tinted light. "Maybe I should." He smiled. "Maybe that's what I came back to do, you stupid boy. You never even thought of that, did you? That maybe I'm done with our games, and might want you gone from this world for good? After all, for all you _foolish_, fumbling assaults, you've been my greatest challenge on this planet. Maybe I could finish my mission, at last, if you were dead." Zim looked at him, an antennae quirking up from his wig, mimicking a cocked eyebrow. Dib lunged against the claw, managing to draw enough breath to shout, "Then do it! Do it, you stinking alien! Kill me, if you've got the guts!" He subsided to panting, then, struggling to get his breath back. Zim sighed, leaning against the closed door. "You really haven't changed, have you, Dib? I guess… I guess I shouldn't have expected anything different. Still, I'd hoped… but why would you? You've been safe and secure, free to go about your trivial life with little challenge. Why should you grow up?"

"Grow up?" Dib panted. "Of course I've grown up! I know so much more, now, about you-" He gasped as Zim lunged, lightening quick, and punched him, hard, high on his face. The Irken's face was, finally, twisted with anger. "_You know nothing!_ You're just a stupid human child! I should never have come back!" He punched him again, a solid blow to his cheek, glove smearing the blood dribbling from where his first strike had cut the skin. He backed away, panted slightly, and barked, "Computer! Throw him outside! And close the gnome holes. He'll have to try harder next time!" The wall behind Dib opened and the arm retracted swiftly, smacking his forearm against the lip of the opening. He watch Zim recede from his view until the arm whipped around a few a turns, finally throwing him from the hole he'd entered through and clanging shut behind him. He started at it for a few shocked moments, ribs aching from the claw's brutal grasp, before he stood and turned. He ran for the street, slipping in the damp grass and wrenching his ankle badly, before he stood and limped, as quickly as he could, for home.

"He _hit_ you?" Gaz's voice was disbelieving. She found it almost impossible to picture the arrogant, haughty invader stopping to strike _anyone_, for any reason. Dib winced as he nodded, touching his cheek. "He's so… I…" He shook his head. "He's so different now. Not just how he looks, but it's almost like he thinks completely differently now." Gaz frowned, then took the sweater from Dib, wetting the cleaner sleeve in kitchen sink. She wiped the blood away and then pressed the cold cloth to his cut. "Hold that there, and let me see your ankle. He complied without speaking, laying his calf across her lap. She gently worked off the boot, frowning at the puffiness that was already forming. "You sprained it, stupid. Just like last year, when you fell off Zim's roof." She laid his leg across her chair and went to the freezer, pulling out a bag of old, nasty frozen peas. She laid it scross the sprain, to a hiss from her brother. "Don't you dare complain. He really _could_ have killed you, know. And I've have been all alone. " Abruptly, tears welled up in her eyes. "_All alone, Dib! You would have left me all alone for a stupid alien!_"She shouted it at him, the tears falling down her face, as she turned and ran for the door, leaving her shocked sibling in the kitchen with his twisted ankle and frozen peas.

She stormed down the sidewalk choking her sobs down, letting pure anger replace them. _Zim WON'T take my brother away!_ She thought furiously, storming fearlessly up the walkway to bang on the door. "ZIM! I know you're in there! Open this door!" She then applied the toe of her boot to the door, chipping the faded and peeling green paint further. She stood, panting, for a few moments, before the door opened. It was Zim, of course, but his earlier collected demeanor was gone. He stared at her for a few moments, warily, before he stepped back, opening the door. "Come in, Gaz. You don't look well." She shoved past him into the house, turning as he closed the door. His eyes widened right before her punch landed, exactly where he'd hit Dib. The thin, small Irken fell, sprawling onto the dirty wooden floor. When he looked up at her, one of his contacts has fallen loose, displaying his bare eye. The faceted gem was crossed by a few fine, pale white-pink lines, and one thick one. He glared at her for a moment before retrieving the hard lens and placing it back where it belonged. He blinked it carefully into place before he stood, hands on hips. "_What_ was that for?" He demanded, staring at her. She glared at him. "How _dare _you hurt my brother! He's _bleeding_, Zim! He sprained his ankle, and you could have broken his arm if you weren't lucky! _You could have killed him!_" She stood, glaring and panting, eyes wide and wild, surrounded by wildly smudged and tear-run black makeup, shining brightly in her pale face. He stared at her for a moment, then nodded. "I could have, Gaz. If I'd chosen to, I could have killed him. But I didn't."He motioned to the disgusting couch. "Won't you sit down? You don't look well."At first she didn't quite believe his words, but as he held the solicitous gesture, and it sunk in just how horrible she really was still feeling, she nodded and sat, ignoring the smell. The couch was amazingly comfortable. She was surprised, however, when Zim sat as well, on the opposite side, resting his elbows on his knees. Where was the Zim from just earlier today, creepy and calm? This Zim was… troubled. After a few moments of silence, he looked over at her. "When I imagined today, this wasn't what I had in mind."He started, with no preamble. "I knew I'd changed, so I thought… I assumed… I thought he'd be different too. That he'd be willing to play our game for real. When I saw him at school, I was sure that he was ready to take me on. He didn't fall to any of his childish ranting or shouted accusations; he just looked at me, then left. I really thought he was ready. But he broke in so obviously, he was so unprepared, and when he started with those _childish_ accusations… I was so disappointed, Gaz. You have no idea."She stared at him, at the self depreciating expression on his face while he stared at his feet. "But why do you care?"She finally managed. "If Dib's incompetent, it just makes everything easier for you, doesn't it?"He shook his head, antennae flicking. "No, Gaz, it doesn't. I don't _care_ about that stupid mission from those fascist, moronic buffoons. Honestly, what would I do, if I conquered your planet? This place… this wretched little flying dirt clod is horrible, Gaz. Your water burns me, your sun is too bright, your food makes me ill, even your air stings when I breathe it. But this is the only place, in the entire galaxy, that I had _something_. A reason. I could leave… and become some sort of intergalactic hobo, hated everywhere, always worrying whether or not the empire would decide I was inconvenient… I thought about it, but…" He trailed off, resting his chin in his hand. She frowned. "What reason could you possibly have to stay, though? You make Earth sound so horrible…" He turned to her, and smiled, but not really in a happy way. "Just one thing, really. The only friend I ever had. Your brother."Gaz would have sworn that the couch shook, the shock of that statement combining with her dizziness making the world rock like a boat. "My…what? My brother? My brother hates you! He's not your friend! I know you two worked together a couple times, like that stupid meat incident, but you weren't _friends!_"

"Weren't we?"His antennae rose, his look mock-quizzical. "Is there really such a dividing line between enemies… and friends? You spend so much time thinking about your enemy, trying to understand them, to anticipate them, that it can be very hard not to come to, at least in a twisted way, admire them. After all, them must some redeeming qualities, to be able to foil you so completely… and then you realize, you're really not different, not where it counts… and that they fill a spot you never even knew was missing."She shook her head. "That's sick. You're saying basically that you like my brother because you hate each other."He shrugged. "When you put it so baldly, in such a simplified way, yes, it doesn't sound right, does it? But please, think, hasn't your brother missed me? Hasn't he waited, hasn't he hoped for me to come back?"Gaz shook her head, pulling her feet up on the smelly, comfy couch, knees tucked to her chest. "This is all way too much, Zim. Just… stay away from him, please. If you actually are his friend, like you claim to be, you should know that coming back here will just start up the same old roles, and just get Dib hurt." She slipped off the couch, turning to look at the miserable-looking alien. He shook his head, not looking at her. "What else would I do, Gaz? I already told you I have nothing else. Without this… I don't have anything."

"What about GIR?"It occurred to her that she had neither seen the pesky robot, nor had her question about it answered. "GIR's gone, and I can't bring him back."He fished a pendant from beneath his shirt, an abstract thing of copper, crystal, and tiny, unidentifiable fragments. "This is all that's left." She stared at the piece of jewellery, unable to fit it together with the insane, hyperactive robot. "He's… dead?"

"I suppose that's as good a word for it as any, though it's not really accurate for a robot. I could never get him to work properly, as I'm sure you know, and never succeeded after I left, either. One day, he just… stopped. The parts that made him up broke beyond repair. I couldn't carry his… remains… everywhere I went, so I made this. The rest…"He looked away. "I threw the rest into a car compactor And scattered the fragments around a garbage dump."

"Wh… why? Why Zim?"

"I couldn't leave proof. I couldn't even stay in one place for more than a couple weeks, how could I possibly leave a piece of alien technology lying around."She shook her head, and turned away, heading for the door. "I think I've heard enough, Zim. Stay away from my brother. I think it would be better if you left completely, but I can't make you. Just leave him alone, or I'll make you sorry."

"You know,"He said, right before her hand touched the knob, "You're probably the only human I've ever met with a chance of carrying out that threat. I know why you're having those dreams."She froze, hand hovering over the knob. "Y… you… no you don't! I think you'd say anything to get me stay here…"But she didn't touch the knob, frozen in place. If Zim knew why, maybe he could prevent it… "Well, I think I do. I've never seen it so strong in a human before…"She spun around, violet hair flaring. "What! What is it? Please, Zim, tell me!" He smiled. "One condition. You let me test, and confirm it." He held up a hand before she could interrupt. "I swear I won't hurt you, or hold you against you will. If that's not good enough, you can go." She reached for the door knob with a snort. What kind of idiot would trust Zim? But… if he _could…_ "You swear on what?"

"I swear on my Pak. You probably don't realize it, but that's fairly serious. I need it to live, after all."

"I must be both insane _and_ stupid… alright. Alright, do your tests, if it can tell me about these dreams…"She turned, and nearly jumped out of her skin. Zim was right behind her. She hadn't even heard him stand. He held out his narrow hand. With a sense of forboding, she took it.

TBC

So, piece the third is done, and to be honest, if I made any mistakes, they probably won't be fixed until I read this over to do part 4. It's all the great reviews I've gotten from everyone that've kept me going, though, even this slowly, so please, if you liked it, or even if you didn't, please tell me, and why!!!


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